Mechanical properties and microstructure of cement mortars incorporating Cd-zeolitized fly ash

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - A solid enriched with NaA zeolite was synthesized from a coal fly ash, and the so-obtained zeolitized material was used as ion exchanger for...     

Cement-based materials as containment systems for ash from hospital waste incineration

Waste generation has increased considerably worldwide in the last decades. As a consequence, incineration became an alternative for reducing waste volume, leading to the generation of ash as a new type of waste. The new cement-ash composite systems have been tested for future applications in building materials. Having in mind the previous data and scientific reports, the objective of the present study is oriented to evaluate the additions of hospital waste ash in cement matrices to be potentially used as construction elements. This involved the assessment of the effect of the additions (different proportions of ash and metal-spiked ash) on the physico-mechanical properties of the building materials and the leachability of metals. The experiences show the feasibility of including hospital waste ashes in masonry blocks or other similar products.     

Early prenatal sonographic diagnosis of neuropathic arthrogryposis multiplex congenita with osseous heterotopia

A prenatal diagnosis of arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) has been carried out on a 19-week-old fetus by means of echography. The ultrasonographic characteristics were unnatural position of the four limbs associated with articular anomalies together with absence of active fetal movements. A therapeutic interruption of pregnancy was performed and the diagnosis was confirmed. At autopsy, architectural disorder of the motor neurons of the anterior medullary horn revealed a neuropathic pathogenesis of the arthrogryposis. Moreover, at the lumbar level the spinal cord was progressively replaced by heterotopic bony tissue which caused a more severe deformity of the lower limbs compared with the upper. The aspects of anatomo-pathological, genetic, and differential diagnosis are discussed showing the precocity of the prenatal diagnosis and the peculiarity of the aetiology of our case.